We're The Only Ones Around
by bluepianos
Summary: There's a thousand lights that'll make you feel brand new, but if you ever lose your way, I'll leave one on for you. Drabble. Wally/Artemis.


**Word Count**: 1,050**  
Prompt**: oversized t-shirts and _Love You Lately_ by Daniel Powter  
**Disclaimer**: I'm crazy, not brilliant.

**we're the only ones around**

_"Artemis, go. I'll be fine." Artemis couldn't move. She stood rooted to her place in the middle of the room, watching as her dad circled her mother; his wife. Artemis felt a sick sense of deja vu, even if the last time something like this happened, she wasn't even present._

"_Mom, I –" Artemis started to speak but Paula cut her off quickly._

"_Artemis, just go!" she screamed, and there was such a heavy weight of horror in her voice that Artemis flinched and took a step backward, her grip on her bow tightening. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Lawrence – just Lawrence. There was no need for secret identities tonight for this was a family affair – grinning maliciously and she wanted to hate him, she wanted to shoot him straight through his eyes, she wanted to _hurt_ him. But she couldn't._

_So Artemis turned and fled. _

_She'd never run faster in her life. As she scrambled down endless flights of stairs, she tried to block out the sound of her mother's cries, each one weaker and more desperate than the last. She tried to ignore her father's raging screams, tried to put together how he'd lost his mind so easily. She tried to ignore the tears trailing her cheeks. _

_By the time Artemis made it to the front of the building, her eyes were red and raw and her breaths were coming out in puffs. She burst through the front door and was met with a dozen blinding lights. Artemis raised her arm to cover her eyes, stopping abruptly in her tracks._

"_Think you can just run off like that, Blondie?" a maniacal voice rang through the night. "And after leaving your own mother in the hands of that killer, oh, tsk, tsk, tsk." Artemis's sight cleared and, standing a few feet from her was the Joker, in all his pale-skinned glory. When their eyes met, the Clown Prince began to laugh lowly; the beginnings of crazed hysterics._

"_Poor, poor Artemis. She could't do anything and still can't!" he mocked. Artemis glared at him and made a move to hoist her bow but moved too slowly. A bullet suddenly cut through the air with an explosion, barely missing her and slicing her right arm. She gasped and dropped her bow. Grasping her fresh wound, she grit her teeth and glowered at the Joker who'd stepped closer to her._

"_If you aren't going to do anything about your family, Blondie, what's the point of trying at all?" he said, before raising his arm. Artemis saw a flash of long, hooked metal before her head snapped to the side and all she felt and saw was red and black._

x-x-x

She woke up suddenly, her white tank top drenched in sweat. It took her a moment to realize that the scene she had just lived through was only a nightmare. When her mind caught up with reality, Artemis sat up and wiped her face clean of sweat, sighing tiredly. She glanced at the clock on the drawer next to the bed. 4:21 in the morning. It wasn't late enough to get up so she resolved to try and fall back asleep. Before that though, Artemis intended to change out of her sweaty tank top and into something more comfortable.

Careful not to wake her companion on the other side of the bed, Artemis sidled out from under the covers quietly and stripped off down to her underwear. She tip-toed around the bedroom for a few moments, one ear listening carefully to the steady breathing of the individual on the bed. Finally finding a shirt large enough to cover her modestly, she plucked up and slipped into an oversized forest green t-shirt that she thought matched Wally's eyes wonderfully.

Artemis thought she'd done a relatively good job sneaking around quietly but as soon as she settled under the covers, Wally spoke up.

"That's my shirt," he mumbled. Artemis froze momentarily before responding.

"And I'm not wearing anything under it," she said. She heard him chuckle before turning on his side to look at her.

"Fine," he smiled. "And _good morning_, babe," he planted a short kiss onto her lips. Artemis returned the greeting as eagerly as she could before he pulled back. She watched as his bright green eyes took in her somewhat haggard appearance.

"So tell me why you felt the sudden need to strip naked and put on one of my shirts," Wally asked, a half-smirk plastered on his drowsy features. Artemis frowned slightly and shifted onto her back, not speaking.

"I saw them again," she finally answered quietly. There were a few seconds of silence before Wally leaned up onto his elbow, looking directly into her eyes.

"What happened?" he asked. Artemis sighed and closed her eyes.

"It was the Joker again. Dad was crazy and Mom was trapped. You know how these things go. But –" Artemis paused, "– but I couldn't do anything. I can never do anything." She turned away slightly when she heard her own voice crack. In the corner of her eye, she saw Wally frown deeply before he sat up and made her do the same. Artemis's boyfriend gathered her up in his arms as he sat behind her, his hands wound tight around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. Artemis's lips quirked into a bittersweet smile.

"I am, too, babe," she replied. "But they're gone, right?" Wally didn't answer, instead tightening his grasp on her waist. Artemis sighed and rested her tired head on Wally's. They sat still for what seemed like hours but in actuality was only a few minutes.

"Why don't you go back to sleep?" Wally coerced lightly. Artemis nodded and they lay back down together, synchronized and sluggish.

"Hey, Wally?"

"Yeah, babe."

"Wake me up before you get up, okay?" Wally pressed a kiss onto Artemis's head. "Will do, Artemis. I'll still be here when you wake up, alright?"

Artemis fell asleep to the soothing sound of Wally's breathing and his occasional hummed broken tunes. She didn't realize until later that day that not only did Wally stay in bed with her until she woke up, he also refused to fall asleep until she did.

_I hope you find whatever you've been lookin' for.  
__Just remember where you're from and who you are._

'_Cause there's a thousand lights that make you feel brand new,  
__But if you ever lose your way, I'll leave one on for you_

* * *

I adore oversized t-shirts as well as a select few of Daniel Powter's songs. I also love Spitfire with the gravitational pull of a thousand suns. Mix the three together and _bam_, we have got ourselves a drabble! Please don't hesitate to drop a review!


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